Recorders you'd recomend?

Hey there everyone,

I'm trying to find a recorder so I can listen to my music. One I can also link into my computer so I can upload my music here and a MySpace so I can get other people's opinions on my progress aswell as me listening afterwards to see what I can improve for myself. I need a simple enough recorder thingy to use in my house but has reasonable sound quality. I'll look at names of technology or links.

Thank you

(And for the record while I'm writing this I've been gone as I've got a lot of coursework but I'll pop in the site whenever I can)

Just using your guitar? Or your vocals, too?

Best thing I would say is to get a mic. SM 58 (or SM 57) is so cheap and a good quality mic. Around £60.

But if you're looking for some quality I'd look at a decent condenser mic like the AKG C414. Which is pricy but top notch.

But you should think about changing your soundcard, standard PC soundcards aren't really fast enough to handle real time audio very well. You'll need a soundcard with an audio interface, which yours wont have unless you bought it specifically for that.

I'm not a major pro at all of this, but it's good to look into.

What is it you want to record?

414s are great! i really would recommend one. our school supplies them for our music tech course aswell as sm57s and 15k's worth of audio interfaces, condensers, mixing desks etc etc. definately two good microphones there, they would be a wise choice, but it all comes down to what you want to record. if its just guitar then an sm57 would do fine.

Have you tried using Audacity? It's a free program where you can record tracks, layer them, add some effects. There's a few of these types of programs out there and I'm sure others prefer other programs. May not give you the best sound quality, but it's fairly easy to figure out. I convert files to mp3 and listen to them on my way to work as I work on songs. Sound quality improves when I hook a mic to my laptop.

If anyone knows of something better than Audacity, please let me know.

Audacity isn't the best program for recording, it's just because it's free it's so popular.

If you want an awesome program you can use to record, change around and add effects, you should try getting Cubase SX for PC or the new Logic Studio for the Mac.

Though, for everone, Logic Studio is obviously the most expensive program out right now. But it's amazing.

For both programs you don't really need a masterboard. Logic Studio, you definitely don't need one. I would say that program has it all.

Makes me wish I had a Mac.

I want to record my singing with my accoustic for genreal progress monetering but sometimes I pla benjo or the guitar with a piano player usually for the sake of it. Already I can see I've got a lot to think about! I did'nt even know I needed a special computer for actual recorders.

not really computer, you can mostly get parts to add onto your computer to boost memory etc so thats not really an issue. sounds cards arent an issue either. i mean you can get a good one for just over £50 which plugs into the motherboard via PCI. very top quality on the otherhand can strech above £150.
depending on what system you're running on, whether its mac windows linux etc, its best to do some research into the sorts of programs and products you can use to record.

microphone wise, you say you're doing acoustic and vocals, is this recording at the same time or seperately? if it's sametime, it is best to get an akg 414 (if money is no issue) and find a sweet spot in the room you're recording. play along and get someone to have a stroll around the room to find where the sound is of best quality, but thats more techniques to recording rather than mics itself.

its just acoustic guitar and vocals you could probly just use a $10 mic.. depends on how good of quality you want tho

Well, for 98% of us, money will always be an issue. As sound quality improves, most of the time you're paying with cash or other restraints. Start out basic and work your way up till you get to a quality that you are comfortable with. I'm not saying to go out and buy a new mic everytime you feel something is off, but maybe start with one of the free programs and and your computer's built in mic. Upgrade as needed. Mics are hardware, so they'll probably require more research, but I'm sure you'll figure out what works best for you.
Anyways, here's another thread that is of similar topic FYI.

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/topic.php?id=1123

Nice, how many guitarists here sing too?
Well Heather ^^ they already told u what to do, but u can also do the amp-computer mic input thing and use a mic for the singing...

(And for the record while I'm writing this I've been gone as I've got a lot of coursework but I'll pop in the site whenever I can)

I can sing, though it's not my profession.

Quality costs money though, which is kind of annoying, but makes it worth it when you can actually afford to get it.

Hi Heather
Christmas is coming so keep real well in with you mam &dad. I'm just learning to use a Boss BR600 Digital 8 track recorder complete with stereo mikes and everything you'll ever need recording wise, and it will let you download to your PC via USB so you'll be able to burn your efforts to disc!

http://www.roland.co.uk/guitar_room_catdet.asp?ID=BR600